Cignal fended off sister team PLDT, 25-16, 20-25, 25-21, 25-20, to open their Premier Volleyball League Second All-Filipino Conference campaign at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday night.
Ces Molina, the Invitationals MVP, fired a team-high 20 points on 20 attacks to go along with 11 excellent digs for the HD Spikers, who were without veterans Jovelyn Gonzaga and Rachel Daquis.
Gonzaga skipped the match due to her military commitment while Daquis is still in the US for a coaching program.
“First of all, sobrang thankful kay Lord sa guide niya sa amin the whole game. Happy and syempre sobra talagang… dahil sa naging performance namin hopefully, maging mas inspired kami,” said Cignal head coach Shaq delos Santos.
After splitting the first two sets, Cignal overcame an early 8-13 deficit after Molina, Acuna, and Gandler led a 7-2 rally that locked the scores at 15 all, which then turned to a 25-21 victory that catapulted them to a 2-1 set advantage over the High Speed Hitters.
With PLDT threatening to force a decider, the HD Spikers leaned on Riri Meneses, Gel Cayuna, and Molina in the fourth to stave off a motivated High Speed Hitters side, who sliced a 14-20 deficit to just one point, 19-20, after a string of errors coming from Cignal’s side.
Rhea Dimaculangan, however, committed a service error which was followed by an ace from Meneses and a kill from Cayuna which gave the HD Spikers a 23-19 advantage.
Vanie Gandler and Chin Basas stepped up as well, chipping in 12 points each while Jackie Acuna, who provided a huge spark in the third frame, chipped in eight points in just two sets played.
Bia General came up big as well for the HD Spikers, tallying 33 excellent digs and 15 excellent receptions in a defensive masterclass while Gel Cayuna tossed 13 excellent sets to go along with four markers.
Cignal looks to sustain its momentum against defending champion Creamline on Saturday, 7:00 p.m. in Batangas City.
Michelle Morente stopped the bleeding with a searing cross-court hit but Molina took over from there, scoring the next two points to hand their team the victory.
On the other hand, Fil-Canadian Savannah Davison paced the High Speed Hitters with 17 points to go along with 11 excellent receptions in her first-ever PVL action while Erika Santos and Royse Tubino added 11 and 10 markers, respectively.
PLDT aims to bounce back against Akari on Thursday, 5:00 p.m. at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
